Security aide stops Amaechi from greeting Jonathan POSTED ON FRIDAY, JUNE 28TH, 2013 •Presidency removes NGF chairman’s seat at NEC meeting •ACN flays Aso Rock over actions By Chesa Chesa State House, Abuja There was mild drama on Wednesday night at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, venue of the Presidential dinner organised by President Goodluck Jonathan when Presidential bodyguard stopped Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, from getting close to Jonathan. Amaechi, who is the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and his loyalists arrived the venue when the event was already in progress. They came in from the Rivers Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, where they met earlier for about 15 minutes and then adjourned to honour the President’s dinner invitation. On his entourage were Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Abdulazeez Kyari-(Zamfara); Muritala Nyako (Adamawa) and Magartakada Wamakko (Sokoto). Amaechi, after settling down, got up and made his way towards where Jonathan was seated in company of Presidents Joyce Banda of Malawi and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, apparently to greet him. However, a Presidential bodyguard blocked the Governor from reaching the President. The Governor resisted for a while but had to return to his seat when it was glaring the bodyguard won’t allow him. Also, Amaechi, who was seated with Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, was not recognised at the event while Akpabio was introduced as chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum. There was also an altercation between Amaechi and Akpabio. The duo reportedly accused each other of being undemocratic. “You are not democratic,” Amaechi told Akpabio and the latter instantly fired back, “You too, you are not democratic.” Few minutes after that, Amaechi, Fayemi and Oshiomole left the venue. On his way out, Amaechi fielded questions from journalists. The following conversation ensued between him and State House correspondents: Is your presence here with other Governors an indication that the problem in NGF has been resolved? Amaechi: Was NGF sick? I don’t know about factions. We were holding NGF meeting and we agreed that those of us who were there should honour the President and attend the dinner; we have attended, you saw all of them, some have left and I am leaving too. Did you tell Governor Jang there was a meeting? Amaechi: He was invited. What is my business if he was not there? 16 to 19. Are you not a Nigerian? Sixteen Governors voted for him, 19 Governors voted for me. If he does not accept the 19, he is undemocratic. Anybody who supports him, including television houses, are also undemocratic. I have said it in a statement that if at any point in time we cannot uphold what 19 Governors said, then we should be afraid of 2015. If the PDP is suspending me for that reason, too bad. We must learn to be democratic. I am not aware that the party has given any reason for suspending me, if that is the reason, too bad. The party is yet to give any reason for my suspension. I am not aware that the party suspended me for winning an election. What is the way forward? Amaechi: That is the question to ask Jang and those who are supporting him. Those with me are in majority. But the Presidency would seem to be fighting the battle on all fronts, as the Thursday meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) in Abuja chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo cancelled the seating arrangement that usually recognised the chairman of the NGF. Before the Vice President entered the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa for the meeting at 11.15 a.m., protocol officers reversed the long-standing left-to-right alphabetical order seating arc around the Vice President. Even more noticeable was the fact that the special seat hitherto reserved for chairman of the NGF beside the Attorney General of the Federation, after the Vice President, and on which Amaechi had sat for two years, was now conspicuously missing. All Governors at the Thursday meeting were made to sit strictly according to the alphabetical position of their states, from Abia to Zamfara. This arrangement meant that Amaechi (R) had his seat beside his “adversary”, Jang (P), with no Governor representing (Q) to separate them. The Rivers State Governor became aware of this development only when he came into the Chamber and was informed by State House officials that the new arrangement had displaced his usual seat, and that he would have to sit beside his Plateau State counterpart. One of Amaechi’s supporters, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and Chairman of the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum, noticing the unfolding dra ma, walked up to the Rivers State Governor saying: “So, you are going to sit with Jang. This is very nice oh. Somebody is trying to be diplomatic here.” Amaechi replied: “We are still together. So, I am going to sit with him. The real chairman and the…” as both men erupted in laughter. Not long after, Jang walked in and was ushered to his seat where he exchanged greetings with Amaechi, who, however, added: “You are welcome, but I am the authentic chairman.” Jang didn’t reply. However, Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, added more drama when he held Jang’s hand and pointed to Amaechi, saying, “That is my chairman.” Oshiomhole added that Jang was just the leader of the PDP extended faction, a comment that drew more laughter from the gathering before the Vice President arrived for the meeting. Meanwhile, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) reacted swiftly on Thursday by calling on Jonathan to order a probe into the situation that led to Amaechi being barred from greeting him at the dinner. In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said the President should ensure that whoever was behind such a condescending treatment of a State Governor was properly sanctioned to serve as a deterrent. ‘’We are making this call because we do not believe that, in spite of the reported frosty relations between the two, President Jonathan – as the father of the nation – will lend the weight of his high office to such a demeaning action as exhibited by the Presidential security personnel. ‘’To believe that anyone occupying the esteemed office of the President of one of Africa’s most important nations will be a party to a situation in which any security aide will willfully fence a state chief executive from paying his respects to the President at such an open gathering will be to think the worst of the occupier of that office. “That is why we have chosen not to believe that this indeed occurred, and why we are calling on Mr. President to tell Nigerians that ‘it ain’t so. “We shudder to think of what efforts are being made – including the use of national institutions – to undermine Gov. Amaechi if the treatment reportedly meted out to him at the dinner has the approval of the powers that be. “We are even more worried at what will happen to a Governor from the opposition who falls out of favour with the President, if a Governor from the same party as the President can be so publicly humiliated,’’ the party said. Post Your Comment
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 05:45:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015